Air Tools and Compressors...

[GrayCar]

Having been working on this damn car for so long now I've come to realize that investing in some air tools would be a good idea. I know little nothing else other than which brands are good to stick with for the air tools themselves.

I'm going to start with the compressor (duh), so here'a few questions, let's keep in mind I need portability and don't want to blow any fuses:
1. What kind of capactiy should I go for with the tank?
2. What HP should the motor have? If it matters.
3. How many PSI should I be looking for?
4. What are brands are good? Will Craftsman do?

I don't need to run a shop with this, so top-of-the-line isn't needed, I just need some tools to speedup my work (and not waste weekends on stuck bolts) and eliminate the need to run out and have somebody else do things like torque down my crankbolt.

Thanks.

[GrayCar]

Something with a 15 gallon tank is probably going to be too big for me. Right now I'm in an apartment building and would need to roll it out from my storage area to the parking spot.

The application I want it for now is really the stuck bolt situation. Lots of times I've been working on the car and I get jammed because PB Blaster and hand tools just don't cut it or take too long to work. Shit takes too long to do. One day jobs become two days...

So, need to drive an impact wrench to get these things loose.

[GrayCar]

So what you're trying to tell me here then is I should be looking at SCFM and PSI rather than HP, tank, etc.?

[mrhonda]

I don't know a whole lot about compressors, I've always just worked in shops. As far as air tools, it depends on the application. Just remember this, and it pretty much goes for anything; you get what you pay for. Cheap tools don't last. For someone who just needs some air tools for working on their own car on the weekends, Craftsman is fine. As far as I'm concerned though, I've always used Ingersol-Rand air tools, The're powerful as hell, lightweight, and last damn near forever.

[GrayCar]

Ya, I can't really afford shop-quality tools unless I find a deal in town or on eBay. For now at least, just need something that will be serviceable.

[darkslide_77]

yeah dude, look at the cfm and psi rating...........get them as close as possible to get the best performance out of the tools....but i def agree with mrhonda...you get what you pay for. craftsman is great (<-----works at SEARS!) but those goddamn ingersol-rand impacts are amazing!

[GrayCar]

(<-----works at SEARS!)

Hook me up guy!

Anyway, next project for my car is the suspension, spring, struts, strut bars, urethane bushings... I could pay somebody to do it, but where's the fun in that? Half the fun of this stuff is doing it yourself IMHO.

The breaker bars is a good idea, but it would be hard to fit underneath there. Ultimately I would love to find a guy with a shop that would let me use one of his service bays, but that would be hard to find.

[darkslide_77]

sorry bro....not at your sears, but i may be coming down there for a week to train......

the bushings might be a pain to do in the driveway, but the rest of it is pretty sraightforward......

[GrayCar]

Pretty straightforward has bit me in the ass before...